Borderlands 2 Review

Borderlands 2 is a game that could be a pre-cursor of great things to come, but for now it’s a great game that’s a lot of fun but comes up short in a few areas. The first Borderlands didn’t interest me much because it sounded like the things that already had been done in Fallout. Post apocalyptic war zone, a cruel wasteland and first person view. Upon talking to some fellow gamers, and looking at the game it was much more than that. The multiplayer aspect was a brilliant part of the game. This time around they have added more to the mix than the first and ensured a pleasurable experience, but like I said before it comes up just a little short.

I’m not one for cell shading, but in this case the job gets more than done. The characters are brought to life through great animation and a fair amount of detail. Although, had this game gone with a different style things might have looked that much better. In a world where bloodshed and hope is faulty, a little bit of gore needs to be visualized. The backgrounds are a bit drab and the towns are flat, but like I said before this world isn’t a vibrant place anyway so it works.

This is the one area where this game falls completely flat as far as I’m concerned. The story is supposed to be about a group of so called “vault hunters” who are after a certain thing. The overall bad guy Handsome Jack is out to get them. While Jack has some witty repertoire, he seems to only have that. Beyond this there aren’t any surprise twists or things of that nature. Where story is concerned here; what you see is what you get. I will say this though, rarely if anytime have I seen a game with a weak story produce so many great characters. They are funny, relevant and vibrant. How is this possible…..shoot I don’t know, but it works. All I can say is go with the flow on this one because it’s a good ride despite the lack of story.

It is because of this area (which proves the old adage in gaming) that things are successful in Borderlands 2. Where to start on this one is tough. From the vast amount of weapons, to the brilliant mix of RPG elements; with a first person shooting style, this game oozes of fun. Then throw on top of that the co-op online and offline it blows your mind. It’s a surprising thing that although you can enjoy your share of bounty hunting and land exploring you never get lost in the task you are trying to complete. The feeling you get from dispatching a group of bad guys with your special powers and awesome guns makes you want to repeat the process more and more. The four types (five soon with the DLC) of classes gives you the freedom to choose from different play styles all the while still enjoying the first person shooter aspect. To put things in short this game delivers where it counts the most — and that’s with brilliant gameplay.

Sounds are a mixed bag as music rarely plays, but when it does it hits hard and hits right when needed. The sounds of guns and sound effects in general are “off” greatly though. More emphasis could have been put into the sounds of weapons. The voice acting is spot on; a funny as all heck experience. To hear some of the characters banter will have you in stitches and is cleverly plotted out.

Playing online in Borderlands 2 is an important part of it’s charm. You can easily drop in and join a friend. Getting tired of playing and want to quit? Then go ahead drop out and do something else without interrupting their game, or spoiling your stats. The load times aren’t bad while doing this either. The game smartly makes the enemies more challenging when someone joins in on your action. When they leave your game, it dials back the difficulty. This game is a dream when it comes to playing with others as it promotes team work and is RPG in nature. Each class can do something to help the other. You aren’t limited to a class when playing others either. So if everyone wants to be a Gun-zerker then it’s possible. This is one of the game’s best areas.

The great thing is that once you have finished one class you can move onto the next class and still have fun. Although some classes are a bit more fun to play with than others. Throw on top of that the drop in and drop out Co-op and things will be more than looking up in the fun (replay) department.With plenty of friends to play with online and brilliantly thought of classes, this game will keep you entertained for a long, long, long time to come.

In closing this is a great game, but it comes up short of epic due to non-existent story, bad sound effects, and off-graphics. Those minor things aside this game still succeeds and in a big way. I bought the game not expecting much, but it’s safe to say it didn’t let me down. I give Borderlands 2 an 8 ControllUs out of 10.